MENT OF ARCHIVES AND HISTORY, TO REPAIR, REHABILITATE,
AND MAINTAIN ABANDONED CEMETERIES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI
:

SECTION 1. Upon the official certificate of the Trustees of the Mississippi
State Department of Archives and History that any abandoned cemetery is
of historical significance and should be repaired, rehabilitated, or maintained
as a historical monument, the boards of supervisors of the respective counties
in this state are hereby authorized and empowered, in their discretion,
to repair, rehabilitate, and maintain any such cemetery within the borders
of the county over which such board has jurisdiction.

SECTION 2. Subject to like certificate from the said Trustees of the
State Department of Archives and History, the board of supervisors in adjoining
counties may in their discretion, jointly accomplish such repairs, rehabilitation,
or maintenance in those instances where the cemetery in question occupies
territory which at one (1) time or another was located as a part of said
adjoining counties.

SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after
its passage.

Approved: March 23, 1971

CRITERIA FOR THE CERTIFICATION

OF HISTORICAL

SIGNIFICANCE OF ABANDONED CEMETERIES

UNDER THE PROVISIONS

OF

HOUSE BILL NO. 780

Laws of Mississippi, 1971

1. The request for a certificate of historical significance must pertain
to an "abandoned" cemetery.

For the purposes of the implementation of this act, an "abandoned" cemetery

shall be construed to be one that is not adequately maintained by
its legal owner or owners, whether religious bodies, private individuals,
or governmental agencies.

B. An "abandoned" cemetery shall also be interpreted as one in which
no burials have been made in the five years preceding the date of the official,
written request to the Board of Trustees of the Department of Archives
and History for a certificate of historical significance.

C. A single grave, in some instances, may constitute an abandoned"
cemetery.

D. Indian burial grounds shall be regarded as "abandoned" cemeteries

II. In determining whether or not to issue a certificate of historical
significance, the Board of Trustees will consider:

A. Cemeteries which contain the graves of persons who have contributed
significantly to the history of the nation, the state, or the local region.

B. Cemeteries which are associated with events that have made a significant
contribution to the broad patterns of the history of the nation, the state,
or the local region.

C. Cemeteries which are associated with properties entered on the National
Register ofHistoric places.

D. Cemeteries which are associated with "State Archeological Landmarks,"
provided for in the Antiquities Law of the State of Mississippi.

E. Cemeteries which are located on land belonging to the State of Mississippi,
to a county or municipality, or to any political subdivision of the State.

F. Cemeteries containing the graves of veterans of any of the nation's
wars.

G. Cemeteries containing statuary, vaults, markers, and monuments
of sufficient architectural and artistic value to merit their protection
and preservation.

H. Cemeteries which, by their preservation, would contribute in turn
to the preservation of the earlier historical image of a locality.

I. Cemeteries containing 18th century burials.

J. Indian burial grounds, officially identified by professional archaeologists.

III. Those cemeteries which have been officially certified by the Board
of Trustees shall be inventoried by local persons or groups requesting
the certificate, and the inventory shall be deposited with the Department
of Archive. and History. This procedure will not be necessary if the Department
already has the records for that particular cemetery in its collections.